The LOC members and their hosts in a group photograph
The facilities which will be used for the 2023 African Games which Ghana hosts will metamorphose into a University for Sports and Development.
The hint was dropped yesterday by the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, when he and members of the committee engaged a team of DAILY GUIDE and DGN staff about their preparations.
The visit, as the chairman said, was also intended to forge a partnership to champion the cause of the African Games which Ghana was fortunate to be chosen to host.
Previous bids to host the Games did not materialize until the recent one under President Akufo-Addo.
The university as a legacy project, the Chairman pointed out, would be the first of its kind in West Africa and the second in Africa, the first being in South Africa.
Venues for the Games will be in both Accra and Kumasi, the Chairman stated, adding that “we have secured a 100 acre of land near Jubilee Estates in Accra for the project.”
The issue of funding, which falls under Article 181, lies on the bosom of Parliament, for which reason he appealed to the august House to treat the subject as a national assignment and with urgency.
The Games, he went on, was dear to President Akufo-Addo, adding that it would commence in August 2023.
With host countries expected to perform excellently, the Chairman said he hoped that Ghana would move from its previous 15th position to between first and fifth.
Fifty-four African countries will take part in the games in 25 sporting activities.
The African Games started in 1965.
The LOC was inaugurated by President Akufo-Addo last year to host and organize the African Games, he said, adding that the committee was responsible for the material and technical preparation for the sporting fiesta.
The committee would also be responsible for the cultural segment of the programme, the chairman said.
The chairman paid tribute to the President for his foresight in the transformation of the facilities into a University for Sports and Development at the end of the sporting fiesta.
The games, he explained, were intended to promote excellence, respect and unity.
To address the infrastructure deficit in respect of managing the games, the Chairman announced that a 50,000 capacity stadium had been planned for Borteyman in Accra.
Facilities would also be put in some districts and the newly created regions he said.
William Yaw Owusu promised to support the cause of the LOC, while A.R. Gomda Chief News Editor, asked the LOC to channel advertisements to the DAILY GUIDE and DGN. Also receiving the visiting LOC team was the CEO of Western Publications Limited, Kwame Blay, who also promised to support the cause of the committee.
Other members of the LOC during the visit were Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, chief operating officer; Ms. Eva Okyere, member; Mr. Dan KwekuYeboah, member; Ms. Joyce Datsa, member; and Mr. Ahmed Osumanu Halid, also a member.
By A.R. Gomda